Problem: The lifespans of meerkats in a particular zoo are normally distributed. The average meerkat lives $12.7$ years; the standard deviation is $1.5$ years. Use the empirical rule (68-95-99.7%) to estimate the probability of a meerkat living between $14.2$ and $17.2$ years.
$12.7$ $11.2$ $14.2$ $9.7$ $15.7$ $8.2$ $17.2$ $99.7\%$ $68\%$ $15.85\%$ $15.85\%$ We know the lifespans are normally distributed with an average lifespan of $12.7$ years. We know the standard deviation is $1.5$ years, so one standard deviation below the mean is $11.2$ years and one standard deviation above the mean is $14.2$ years. Two standard deviations below the mean is $9.7$ years and two standard deviations above the mean is $15.7$ years. Three standard deviations below the mean is $8.2$ years and three standard deviations above the mean is $17.2$ years. We are interested in the probability of a meerkat living between $14.2$ and $17.2$ years. The empirical rule (or the 68-95-99.7 rule) tells us that $99.7\%$ of the meerkats will have lifespans within 3 standard deviations of the average lifespan. It also tells us that $68\%$ of the meerkats will have lifespans within 1 standard deviation of the mean. The probability of a particular meerkat living between $14.2$ and $17.2$ years is $\color{orange}{15.85\%}$.